Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences

Andrés Castillo Llarena

Report of GLOMAR PhD student Andrés Castillo Llarena about his participation in the "European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly" in Vienna, Austria from 14 to 19 April 2024

EGU24 was an excellent opportunity to connect not only with scientists from various disciplines and regions around the world but also with colleagues from the University in a gorgeous environment. I’m certain that EGU is undoubtedly a great platform for exchanging knowledge and ideas through presentations, posters, and discussions.

This year I mainly focused on following the Cryosphere and the Geomorphology branches, presenting my results in the poster session of “Mountain and ice sheet glaciations: Glacial landforms and their paleoclimatic interpretation”. During the session I was able to connect
with researchers who were working on similar topics as me, having the opportunity to discuss my work and receive valuable feedback from experts in the field. People who were not directly immersed in the topic also came to the poster. I found being gratifying to have a different perspective on my work and challenging me to explain the research to an audience with different experiences and backgrounds. In general, it was a great experience to present my research and extensively discuss it with other researchers who showed interest in my findings.

Hearing and extensively discussing the findings and perspectives of other researchers during the oral and poster sessions was inspiring. I had the chance to attend sessions on various topics such as hydrology, environmental science, geophysics, and atmospheric
science. These sessions provided me with valuable interdisciplinary insights, allowing me to learn about new approaches and techniques that could potentially be applied to my research. Also, I was excited to come across sessions such as “Games for Geoscience” where I learned about the efforts of several groups to playfully disseminate scientific
knowledge through board games, LEGO, and other mediums.

I deeply like the networking opportunity that EGU presents. It allowed me to interact with researchers in different fields. Also, I had the opportunity to connect with colleagues from different parts of the world whom I have met throughout my scientific path. Moreover, I had
the chance to gather with fellow Chilean scientists based in Chile and elsewhere who came to present their results. I was gladdened to see their research and to have the chance to exchange our experiences.

In summary, attending the EGU24 conference was scientifically fulfilling, allowing me to benefit from networking with researchers from different parts of the world, learning about new research areas and interdisciplinary approaches, and building valuable personal and
professional connections. I would like to thank Glomar for funding my participation in the conference. Without their support, I would not have been able to attend the conference and benefit from the experiences and connections that I made.